Cardiovascular System Flashcards
What is cardiac output?
The amount of blood pumped out of the heart each minute.
What is stroke volume?
The amount of blood pumped out of the heart in each beat.
What is heart rate?
The amount of times the heart beats per minute.
Vasoconstriction is the ______ of blood vessels.
narrowing
Vasodilation is the ______ of blood vessels.
widening
What is the function of red blood cells?
To carry oxygen and carbon dioxide around the body.
What is the function of white blood cells?
To fight infection and to support the body’s immune system.
What do the platelets do?
Allow the blood to clot.
What is vascular shunting?
The process of redistributing the blood during exercise.
During exercise the blood vessels ______ to allow more blood to go to the ______ ______
vasodilate ; working muscles
What is blood pressure?
The pressure exerted by the blood on the walls of the arteries.
What is systole blood pressure?
The pressure on the inside of the arteries when the ventricles contract and push blood out of the heart.
What is diastole blood pressure?
The pressure on the inside of the arteries when the ventricles relax and the heart fills with blood.
What is the function of valves in the veins?
To stop the deoxygenated blood travelling back along the vein.
Explain how blood pressure changes when we exercise.
Our heart beats faster and pushes more blood out of the heart with each contraction. This means the systole pressure increases.
